


the silence is suffocating (listen to my heartbeat instead)

by PictureMeBroken



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, dysfunctional college student jeonghan, pianist jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:09:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PictureMeBroken/pseuds/PictureMeBroken
Summary: In which Jeonghan is completely lost, but he follows the music and ends up right where he needs to be.
Relationships: Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26
Collections: October 2020 Birthday Challenge





	the silence is suffocating (listen to my heartbeat instead)

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is actually my friend's idea that she asked me to write a while ago, but i hadn't got around to it. but then the birthday challenge came up and it hit me that this is the perfect place to use this idea so here it is! thank you for reading!

Jeonghan is a mess. It’s the first day of classes and so far he’s managed to forget one of his textbooks, lose his student ID, end up on the complete opposite side of campus from the class he was supposed to be at at 3:30, and spill coffee on his favorite shirt. He sighs heavily as he leaves the classroom, silently praying that the whole semester won’t be like this. 

It isn’t until he takes a turn expecting to be met with a glass door leading outside into the evening air and instead finding a long hallway lined with doors that he realizes he’s lost. Again. 

Jeonghan curses under his breath. He thought that going to a local community college would be easier than going to the university in the next city over. He thought that the smaller campus would be easier to navigate. At the very least he thought that it would be easier to get back to familiar territory if he did end up lost on the campus. 

He thought wrong. 

He’s about ready to give up and call his roommate to come and find him when he hears the light tinkling of piano keys through one of the doors he passes. He stops dead in his tracks at the sound, turning his head to try and figure out which door it’s coming from. 

A glance in the window of the first room shows an empty practice room, a baby grand piano set against one wall and two folding chairs leaning against the other. He moves to the next practice room, peering in the window as the melody fills his ears. This practice room is set up the same as the last with a baby grand hugging one of the walls. 

The difference is that this piano has a man seated in front of it, shaggy blue-gray locks hanging over eyes shut tight and long, delicate looking fingers trailing waves of melancholia over ivory and ebony keys. 

Jeonghan’s heart seizes in his chest and his lungs won’t draw any air because honestly this man is breathtakingly gorgeous and the music spilling from his fingertips is wrapping around Jeonghan’s entire being and taking all that he is. He’s never felt so enraptured by a simple piano melody.

But then again, he’s never felt any piece of music so deeply in his soul as the song seeping through the door. 

He doesn’t even register the movement of his fingers around the doorknob, completely entranced, until silence smothers them and the pianist’s eyes snap to the doorway where Jeonghan is standing. 

Jeonghan sputters. He hadn’t intended to open the door, it had just happened, and now he’s standing there with quite possibly the most attractive man he’s ever seen in person looking at him with wide eyes, hands still poised over the piano he’d been playing so beautifully, and he has absolutely no idea what to say or how to explain himself. “S-sorry. For interrupting. I-I didn’t mean to, I just-” Jeonghan takes a deep breath, making the conscious effort to relax his shoulders before continuing. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone play so beautifully. Is it okay if I listen?” 

Small dimples form on his cheeks as the man purses his lips and Jeonghan swears he can hear his blood rushing through his veins in the heavy silence before, finally, the man nods. 

Jeonghan closes the door quietly behind him. He pulls the second chair away from the wall, setting it up by the corner of the piano and taking a seat with a small smile aimed at the pianist. 

Jeonghan takes the opportunity to study the man a bit more closely as he starts playing once more. He’d guess that they’re around the same age, though his round cheeks suggest he may be a bit younger. 

The man’s eyelashes catch Jeonghan’s attention when they meet the skin of his cheeks as the music crescendos around them and Jeonghan struggles to pull air into lungs that feel tight with the anguish littering the notes fluttering through the air.

Even with the absence of words Jeonghan thinks he can feel the story in the music; it’s heartbreaking, but it might be his new favorite story and he feels almost empty as the other man’s fingers still and the song comes to an end. 

“That was amazing,” his voice is soft, reverant, and the pianist’s cheeks turn a shade of pink that might be Jeonghan’s new favorite color. “I-”

Jeonghan’s ringtone is harsh, the pop song such a strong juxtaposition to the comfortable quiet that both men jump in their seats. Jeonghan silences it quickly, only noticing after that he had seventeen missed text messages and calls from his roommate wondering where he was. He curses quietly and stands. 

“My roommate. I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.” Jeonghan types out a quick message to Seungcheol before slipping his phone back into his pocket and opening the door to the practice room. “Will you be here again tomorrow?” 

The pianist nods, hands folded gently in his lap and eyes seeming to avoid Jeonghan. 

“Is it okay if I come back to hear you play again?” It strikes him that this whole situation is off when the man’s eyes widen and he finally looks up at Jeonghan; they’ve never even introduced themselves. “My name is Jeonghan, by the way. I just started classes here this semester.” 

The man looks away once more and Jeonghan feels the sting of rejection building in his chest when it seems like the younger has no intentions of answering. That is until the pianist nods again and brings his hands up. 

It takes a full three seconds for Jeonghan’s brain to catch up, dredging up old memories from middle school to assist in making out the letters formed by slender fingers mid air. _“J-i-h-o-o-n.”_

“Jihoon?” Jeonghan smiles when Jihoon nods again, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards. “Nice to meet you. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jihoon.”


End file.
